Safari, (n) : An expedition to observe animals in their natural habitat. This site is a 'safari' of international news, development theory, and the natural world. Written by R. Turner Shaw.

Trinidad and Tobago withhold Statistics

Trinidad and Tobago’s National Security Minister banned the released information on murder rates and statistics in the nation a few days ago, in fears that the released figures will actually cause an increase in the number of violent crimes. He is worried about what he calls a “domino effect,” in where when high crimes rates are made available to the public, people may perceive these crimes as acceptable, low-risk, or so common that they are a norm. A lot of violence in Trinidad and Tobago is drug and gang related, and Jack Warner (Security Minister) believes that the release this may, “inflame additional crime,” when dealing with gangs especially. Do public homicide rates actually increase the crime in a country under the domino effect? Most likely not. Are some nations conscious of their crime statistics on the international level, and how they can be disadvantageous to the country’s tourist rates, economy, and legitimacy on input of international issues? Definitely.